Some commercial policyholders will receive refunds “in the thousands of dollars” following over-collection of the Victorian fire services levy (FSL) in its final year.

About 60 insurers and brokers, from a total of 89, collected more FSL than required before the levy was abolished last June 30, according to data from FSL Monitor Allan Fels.

The industry over-collected $12.7 million, or about 2.3% of the total amount insurers were required to contribute to metropolitan and country fire services.

It happened because insurers had to estimate the amount they were required to collect for the year to June 30, with the exact amount not known until October.

Levies on residential and commercial policies varied greatly between insurers, with more variation in commercial policies because of the sums insured and nature of risks.

“Commercial policyholders who receive FSL refunds, on average, will receive more than residential policyholders,” a spokesman for the monitor told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“There will be some commercial policyholders who will receive FSL refund amounts in the thousands of dollars.”

The monitor has issued guidelines for insurers on how to refund policyholders.